that's all...for now

Here ends the stories of my travels in Europe! I know the other thoughts are a little scattered but I'll sum up the return. Kathy and I left the next day (she was heading back to the US early) to head back to Maastricht through France over two days of travel. We rode back through Barcelona and killed time and had an amazing lunch. We went through the seediest train station ever at the Spanish/French border. We made a friend there. We braved the Paris metro (to switch train stations) early in the morning. We endured the ridiculous wait for the platform number to appear on the Paris Nord timetable. We were literally the only passengers on the train from Liege to Maastricht.

And finally, we arrived at home sweet home- blossoming with flowers and sunshine. Seriously?! Since when had Maastricht become the Garden of Eden? And it was lovely. I spent the rest of my time there cleaning, packing, and walking around the city. A huge group of us went out on our last night to Nora's, a kebab place that we had started to consider our spot. Then, it was time to come home.

coming to a close

Hello there!! Long time no blog. Here's the deal. I'm safely back in Maastricht for the next few days-- I have a lot of blogging to add on to since I wrote about Barcelona (mainly, the rest of Spain). Right now I'm working on a paper for one of my classes, editing and uploading photos, and packing and cleaning to head back home.

I returned to glorious, warm weather and flowers in Maastricht (quite a change from all the rain). I've just been washing clothes and catching up on the office and taking a shower with pressure...you know, all that good, important stuff. I'll try my best to update soon, but just so you know, I'll be getting in to Dallas at 4:40 on Saturday afternoon! I need to see all of you, stat. So let me know when and where we can reunite! :)

paradise

Keukenhof Gardens is a flower- and photo- lover's paradise.

Me, Kaitlyn, Kathy, Brittany, Amanda, Rachel

It was essentially an enormous park filled with flowers, trees, ponds, and bridges.

Rachel, Amanda, Kaitlyn, Brittany, Me, Kathy

I enjoyed the challenge of taking shots of some breathtaking flowers!
See more here.

Take note: my new favorite flower is the tulip, hands down!

I know that's no surprise after living in the Netherlands for 2 months. :)

Amanda, Kaitlyn, Brittany

Though not everything was blooming yet, we had a wonderful afternoon there!

museums galore

We visited three museums in Amsterdam...not bad for a day and a half! I loved each one. I think part of the reason was that we were not allowed to take pictures inside. This let us enjoy the paintings and messages more in themselves. We didn't have to worry about getting a good shot and looking at art only through our camera lenses. And I thought the descriptions were well-written and interesting. Another part of this was the Museumkaart we received from the university...not only does it mean free admission, but you cut lines as well. We flashed our cards and sauntered past the huge line at the Van Gogh museum- excellent.

Anne Frank Huis- Worth any wait. We only had to wait a few minutes, but it was still packed. The house was sterile and bare, as Otto Frank requested that it be left as it was, unfurnished, after the Nazis removed everything when the Franks were betrayed. The presentation was moving and respectful. The multi-storied house felt empty, and I think that was a correct feeling. Having read the diary, I was very moved by the quotes on the walls and the photographs.

We were able to climb up the hidden staircase behind the bookshelf and walk through the rooms that the family lived in. It was actually larger than I had expected, but nowhere near large enough for eight confined people over a span of two years. The only thing left was Anne's photographs and magazine clippings on her walls.

However, the most powerful part of the museum for me was reaching Anne's real diary only to see a wall full of translations in different languages, fulfilling her desire to become a writer and publish her thoughts after the war. She is now one of the most famous writers in the world! I will absolutely be reading her diary again sometime soon.


Rijksmuseum Amsterdam- What was best about this museum was the fact that I recognized many paintings here! Naturally, Dutch Art History covered most of the painters represented...from Rembrandt to Rubens, Vermeer to Steen, we enjoyed a little "pre" studying for our art exam (which is tomorrow, yikes).

Some of my favorites:
Vermeer- I am a big fan. His blues and yellows are brighter than I could have imagined, especially on The Milkmaid. That blue color just can't be captured in a picture. The Little Street was gorgeous too. Beautiful.
Night Watch by Rembrandt- it was huge and interesting to see the details up close.
Franz Hals' The Jolly Drinker- love this one.


Van Gogh Museum- This may have been my favorite art museum we have been to. There was a special display on nighttime, and guess what painting was on loan from New York?

Starry Night! It was amazing. But so was everything else. Van Gogh is really an artistic genius and all the more interesting because of his self-analyzation in his letters to his brother Theo. For some reason it strikes me that he signed his paintings with a simple "Vincent." I loved all of the paintings here-- they were beautiful and creative and surprising. The museum was wonderful because it is completely dedicated to one artist. So, the works were displayed in chronological order, with each room providing an overview of his life experiences for a period in his life. It is a tragedy that he was unable to see the impact, influence, and popularity of his amazing paintings.

Collectively, I would say that the museums in Amsterdam were my favorites so far. I know that I am leaving out the Louvre, which was undoubtedly fantastic. But the works in these museums had so much personal significance to me- I thoroughly enjoyed them.

fun in the sun!

Me, Kathy, Rachel

The six of us (Amanda, Kaitlyn, Rachel, Brittany, Kathy, & me) left for a quick, sunny weekend trip to Amsterdam on Friday morning. Originally, we had planned to wait until the end of our month of travel to visit the top sights in the Netherlands, but the weekend before finals seemed like it would be easier and a nice break. Okay, I know...this whole semester has been about breaks! But anyway... :)

On the train, we met up with a friend of Kathy's friend Francesanne, Daan. He is from the Netherlands and was had an absolute blast with him! He helped us navigate the city and of course could translate things in Dutch for us. (Though it really isn't ever a problem finding English translations or speakers in major European cities).

We stepped out into the warm sun, only to be nearly run over a bike! Take that incident and multiply it by at least ten because there are a billion bikes in Amsterdam. Before coming here I had heard that Maastricht was known for its bikes. No. Amsterdam has many, many more.

B- Brittany, Kaitlyn, Kathy, Me; F- Amanda, Rachel

We found our hostel pretty easily...unfortunately, the sewers in front of the building were being repaired, so we were greeted with the worst smell imaginable. Kathy and Brittany had to switch rooms because it was so bad! Rachel and I shared one of the smallest rooms I have ever been in. It's possible our couchette to Budapest was bigger. And that's saying a LOT. Anyway, though it was smelly, the hostel was gloriously close (a street over) to Museumplein, where two of the major museums are. The view below is the Rijksmuseum.

It is also a nice park area with the "i amsterdam" sign. I had never heard of this thing before but we had a hilarious photo shoot with it. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate warm weather and the sun after living in a country where winter means grey and drizzle (rather than a few days where you might need a jacket, Texas) for two months.

Rachel, Amanda, Kaitlyn

Daan, Kathy, Me

After this, we ate a leisurely lunch of authentic Dutch food outside! Finally it was warm enough to enjoy that European tradition...that wicker chair, flowers on the table, eating outside kind of meal. It was quite nice. Then it started to get cold. We headed to the Anne Frank museum (see next post) and wandered around shopping and buying souvenirs and enjoying canal after canal of the beautiful city.

Brittany, Kaitlyn, Me

I loved the canals, and it was nice to be in a city where we weren't frantically scrambling through a metro to get to all the famous landmarks. Amsterdam reminded me a little of Austin, just because it is so lively and independent and a little quirky and probably both have been influenced by hippies.

And they are both just as busy at night! We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant that was pretty delish, and though we were planning to head to a museum (they don't close until 10:30) we decided to take our time and hit both the next morning.

photos!

Hey! I got back from Amsterdam last night-- it was an amazing city! I loved it. It is true about the bikes (insanity) and we were lucky enough to have BEAUTIFUL weather! We also went to Keukenhof, a huge flower park. I have a ton of pictures to show you and a ton of blogging to update...but sadly a gigantic, beastly essay is going to take precedence right now. So, I wanted to say, go HERE to see what I have been up to. I will update ASAP!

http://picasaweb.google.com/joannaprice88

This includes you, facebook friends. :)

a thousand things

Hello there!! So things have been a little crazy lately. I know, I am still in the middle of updating posts from Denmark and Sweden. But, my pictures ARE up online on picasa (though not facebook yet):

picasaweb.google.com/joannaprice88

I wanted to update you on Maastricht things! And really everything. I have a TON to say. So buckle up!!

First of all, we are rapidly approaching our end of semester. My first final is MONDAY night...which is kind of insane. I am taking a very quick break from typing up a 10 page essay to let you know what I've been up to!

I'll be done with classes in less than a week. But I have a lot to cram into that time. Like packing, booking tickets, planning, updating...Other than studying and writing and reading and oh yeah, wasting time online, I have been enjoying the company of my friends here. The people here are just amazing and I can't believe I didn't know these wonderful wonderful students before when we were in Waco. I don't even want to think about leaving them at the end of April!

Last night, the Center for European Studies hosted a quiz night at an Irish pub over near the Maas River-- it was really fun! Almost everyone from this Baylor program was there, which was great. Our team "Domination" won third! Yeah, that's right. I have pictures but who knows when I'll have time to put them up. :) After that I did something extremely productive...here's an example:

Top left, clockwise: Me, Amanda, Kaitlyn, Rachel, Chris, Creepy doll, Brittany, Lexie, Kathy, Caroline

I want to share one of my favorite experiences every week: Monday night dinners. Our whole 45+ person group meets to have dinner Monday through Wednesday. But Monday is the best because everyone has returned from traveling over the weekend. It's so loud and exciting and everyone is talking about their favorite things! And now that we have had lots of weekends, I love hearing someone say, Oh, I love that place! Did you do this and this? And we have these common experiences even though we don't always travel together. By the way, I love traveling. After studying here I can tell you for sure that I want traveling to be an integral part of the rest of my life. Not necessarily that I want to always travel for my job, but there are so many more places I want to see! I feel like George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.

In other news, I'm confirmed to work in Dr. Stanford's lab again over the summer! That means no job hunting when I get back...thank goodness! I'm really excited, because I adore all of the people there! Also this summer I can't WAIT to live with Carrie, Laura, and Stephanie. I feel like I have been waiting my whole life to live with them. Seriously, you probably know that I spend the night at their place all the time because I am always there. Now it will be my place too! :) Speaking of which I hope they are reading this because I miss them like crazy. I'm trying not to think too much about future things, because I told myself this semester here would be a worry-free time. But, I am about to register for my LAST semester at Baylor!!!! After that I am living and working in Waco for the spring semester, and figuring out where I am going to GRAD SCHOOL. It is going to go by so quickly...what changes and what an adventure!

You may know that I loooove having dinner nights back at home...so I am excited to say that I am hosting one over here in my dorm room on Sunday night. I think about 9-10 people (mostly those who went to Budapest/Prague) are coming over and we are making stir fry...yum. It will be a nice break. I know I am usually a studious person but I am really making the effort to enjoy everyone's company and the great sights and the little things of Europe that I am lucky to see this semester.

Oh yes, one other thing. I am leaving very soon! Next Friday afternoon, we begin our month of travel. Here is a list of the places we plan on exploring (not completely in order)! Our group will vary from 7 to 9 people because some people will be meeting up with family along the way.

ITALY
venice
naples
pompeii
positano
rome
florence
cinque terre

GREECE
athens
santorini

FRENCH COAST
nice

SPAIN
barcelona
madrid
grenada

____________________________________________
Friday morning, 5 other girls (Amanda, Kaitlyn, Kathy, Brittany, & Rachel) and I are heading to Amsterdam! We're hoping to have a stress-less visit to the Anne Frank Huis, Van Gogh museum, and Rijksmuseum. We'll spend the night there, visit any museums we missed, enjoy the canals, and stop in Keukenhof on the way back to see the tulips! I worked on my close-up flower photography last weekend in Sweden so my tulip pictures will rock...What do you think?!

riding solo

After sleeping in, I woke up to a beautiful sunny day in Bonn. Matt and I met up with some of his friends and we headed to the Haribo gummy bear store. We'd expected a factory, but it was like a grocery store with only candy for sale...haha.

We explored some more of Bonn and I saw Matt's school and the cool window design they had to make for a class. We grabbed some delish 50 cent pizza and headed to Cologne to try and see the cathedral again. Sadly, the climb to the top was still closed. We paid tribute to some of the Beethoven sights, too: a statue and his birthplace.

Our last stop was a sporting goods store to find a backpack for my friend Kaitlyn. But this was no ordinary store...it was amazing. It was shaped like a circle, with 4 stories and an open center. The bottom floor hosted a pool where there was scuba diving and the ceiling was like an open sky..it was super cool. We didn't find the backpack but headed to the train station.

So, this was my first time to navigate trains by myself! You should be proud. I did very well. I had to take 3 different trains to get back to Maastricht over 2 hours. I'd hit two of them and was waiting for the last train from Heerlen to Maastricht, when the sign over the platform suddenly changed to "niet instappen." Bad news...this means no stop, which means NO TRAIN. Naturally I was a little confused. A conductor told me, oh yeah, there's no train to Maastricht this weekend.

Um, what?!

Take the bus. He gestured in a direction and provided no further instructions.

Well, there was more than one bus at the stop. Somehow I remembered to pretend that I knew what I was doing, and it must have worked because two people came up to me and asked me in Dutch which bus to take to get to Maastricht. Secretly I was following this British businessman and a Dutch lady, both who said something about Maastricht so I figured I would just do what they did.

When a bus finally arrived, I asked the driver if he was going to Maastricht.

He said, nope. Valkenburg.

Hmmmmmm. Well, Valkenburg is on the way to Maas. And the British dude was getting on. He said we could take a train once we got there. I asked a Dutch student and an English-speaking couple, and they were all nice and said I would be fine. So I got on the bus.

30 minutes later we arrived in Valkenburg and took the train (from the wrong platform) to Maas. Thank goodness! I found a sign inside the train that said for some reason (my Dutch isn't good enough for me to read that part) the train couldn't go from Heerlen to Valkenburg, which is why no train could go to Maas. Makes sense, but it would have been nice to know that earlier!

The point is I made it back just fine. And I spent the rest of the weekend resting and catching up on homework. I'm really glad I decided to do that. I am leaving tonight with Kathy and her parents for Denmark! Hello Hamlet! :)

something current

I know I've been updating a lot recently, but I am trying to catch up on last week after traveling and then being sick this week! I feel a lot better, but decided not to take a big trip this weekend so I can make sure I'm healthy. :) So, I'm going with Bri, Taylor, and Caroline to Cologne tomorrow morning. We'll hit up the chocolate factory, the famous cathedral, and perhaps some other fun places. Matt is going to meet up with us when he gets out of class, and then I'll hang out in Bonn, and head back to Maastricht on Saturday to catch up on homework! I'm glad for the chance to take it easy this weekend! Miss and love you all!

PS- The pic is from Budapest, along the Danube River- I still have a lot to tell you!

crazy carnaval

Carnaval is like Mardi Gras + Halloween.

And, it is kind of insane. Every night, starting last Thursday or so, people dress up and head over to the Vrijthof, a square in the city, for dancing, drinking, and eating. That crowd is mostly students. It's a lot of fun! Here is us getting ready. By the way, you can dress up like anything you can possibly imagine...and you'll never be the craziest one, oh believe me.

Goofy makeup is pretty much necessary to blend in.

Me, Caroline, and Kathy, posing like creepy dolls.

Amanda, Kaitlyn, and Rachel- gogo gals

One of the best things is that you meet so many people because you are all squished up together dancing and running around. Random people will come up to you and say hi...good times. I met people from all over the world in the past two days- Spain, Costa Rica, Germany...

Caroline, random Maastricht guy, Jonathan, Me

Pana, Katie, Claire, Me- after we almost got squished because it was so crowded

I won't lie to you. Carnaval is all about partying. We were kind of shocked to see the Vrijthof at night- all of that trash on the ground? It's broken beer glasses and plastic cups, and this was only at like midnight. So we were sure to wear sturdy boots when we went out!

We did make the mistake of dressing up for the opening ceremony! Though there were a few people in costume, we were in the minority. Today, however, at the parade, something like 95% of the crowd (parents, children, grandparents, students, everyone) was dressed up. It was drizzly but that didn't stop anyone!

And there are NO limitations on what you can wear. I have video footage of everything...so I'll put it up asap! Among the crazy things we saw:

These dudes walked the wrong way down the parade route.

Terrifying...so naturally we attempted to recreate the monster. We also saw a group of guys dressed up like that afro painter guy from PBS, someone with a Hugh Laurie mask on, 20+ Elvises, the monks from Monty Python, a thousand people time-transported either from Victorian England or the American 60s, and a ton of adorable coordinated families.